


My World, Your World, Our World

by Hinalilly



Series: Hina's Cheesy Rinharu Week Oneshots [8]
Category: Free!
Genre: (blue) like the oceans that connect us, (red) like the thread that ties us, Fluff, Fluff and Feels, M/M, Rinharu Week, eternal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-27
Updated: 2014-11-27
Packaged: 2018-02-27 06:00:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2681768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hinalilly/pseuds/Hinalilly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>If there was one thing that Haru had learned from Rin, it was that sometimes the best solution was the craziest one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	My World, Your World, Our World

**Author's Note:**

> (Idk why AO3 decided it hated my formatting for this fic, so I spent around two hours trying to edit it back to the way it was supposed to be. I'll probably have to look it over more carefully later to make sure everything's where it's supposed to be, but if you spot any typos or things that look weird, please let me know! **EDIT:** fixed a couple of typos and removed some unnecessary format tags that showed up out of nowhere(?); it should be good now!)
> 
> And so we finally come to the 8th part of Hina's "... wait a second WHERE IS THE CROSSOVER PROMPT!?" Rinharu Week adventure!
> 
> I just want to say that I feel so happy and lucky to have been able to take part in this amazing event! Life was surprisingly busy and it tried to get in my way, but I wanted to give it my best, and this is the result! I also want to say a big, huge THANK YOU to everyone who read my cheesy series and left kudos, comments, reblogs and likes on tumblr (and a special shout-out to the 3 poor souls who had to listen to my rants through message clients about my awful schedule and the fics themselves, aka my personal cheerleader squad/beta team/support group Echo, Lucy, and Maze! I'm so sorry, you guys. You're the best).
> 
> If you liked the cheesy stuff so far, get ready. This one's the cheesiest yet!
> 
> And about the prompts, well, the crossover one I decided to save for something else, which will _hopefully_ be uploaded to my tumblr in the next few hours if luck is on my side and my internet connection lives through the rest of the day.
> 
> But first *rolls up sleeves* to the fic!

 

 

 

It was a cold Tuesday afternoon when “it” happened. Haru had just gotten out of a relaxing bath after a long day of training, the warm water doing wonders to help both with his slightly sore muscles and against the chilly weather. He’d long gotten used to the pleasant ache that came in the wake of work outs, but it was still routine for him to turn off his phone, unwind and relax in the bath first thing upon returning home, a sort of ritual to recharge the social batteries he’d drained during the day.

Life in Tokyo wasn’t particularly difficult; Haru was organized and independent, used to living on his own since he was a child, and he didn’t have any crazy spendings, the heaviest of which were reserved for paying rent, the occasional renewal of his swimming equipment, and his (as of recently) ever-on the rise phone bill. Haru had never felt the need to resort to calling his friends, since they had always been close when he’d needed them, but now, while the fundamentals hadn’t changed one bit, the physical distance between them was harder to bridge than he’d thought, and the previously unheard notion of Nanase Haruka religiously checking his phone every morning for messages and actually making phone calls was no longer a fantasy, but a much needed reality. And there was more. Without Makoto ever present at his side to act as his buffer now, Haru had found himself unable to avoid engaging in social interactions himself, and so there were now a few (very few, but that was still a monumental step for someone like Haru) brand new contact numbers stored in his phone which regularly chimed in notifications of schedule modifications, lunch plans, and get-togethers (which Haru was still politely excusing himself from, a decision that, thankfully, his current teammates seemed to accept and respect for the time being). Life in Tokyo wasn’t particularly difficult, but it was certainly exhausting enough, and Haru’s daily soak in the tub had become less of a weird quirk and more of a necessity, regardless of his now year-round access to a pool.

Another thing that had changed was the frequency with which Haru was contacted by his parents. Perhaps it had been triggered by his decision to leave his hometown, or perhaps by the prospect of him adopting a life of travelling (not that his parents were against it, being free spirits themselves and all, quite the contrary). In any case, the calls had ranked up from “seldom” to “sporadic,” and that in itself was a huge change as well. Haru was starting to get used to hearing about places he knew nothing of, names he couldn’t place, and even talk of connections and sponsors and a lot of things he wasn’t particularly interested in. The fact that he just wanted to swim hadn’t changed much (it was one of the few things that hadn’t changed, really, and Haru had found out with surprise that it wasn’t that difficult to adapt to the ones that had), but during those calls it seemed like his parents were more enthusiastic about his career than he himself was. Haru couldn’t lie, the technical aspects were kind of a bore, but the rest was fine. He was enjoying himself, when it came down to it, even more so now that he had a purpose, now that each new stroke brought him closer to the places he wanted to reach and the people he wanted to see.

More specifically, Rin.

Haru thought about Rin a lot. That was another thing that hadn’t changed, and another he couldn’t lie about. He was still getting used to resorting to a computer to keep in touch with him (he secretly practiced with Makoto from time to time; having Rin laugh at his inabilty to initiate a Skype call was unnerving and slightly irritating, really), and while Haru knew it was only temporary, the fact that he couldn’t just hop on a train to see him was a constant frustration nagging in the back of his mind. Rin, on the other side of the screen, seemed not to mind the distance between them that much—or rather, he always went out of his way to make it seem like it wasn’t a big deal, always talking to Haru like he was just a 10-minute walk away, armed with an uncanny knowledge of what the weather in Tokyo was like and more news on the Iwatobi Swim Club’s shenanigans than Haru himself was aware of (of which the culprit was most likely Gou. Or Nagisa. Or both. Haru suspected both equally). Rin blabbered about trivialities, ranted about training, laughed at Haru’s poor relationship with technology, admonished his reluctance to adopt a more varied diet, and regularly shared gossip about his teammates. Rin rarely said things like “It’s lonely here” or “I miss you.” It was like nothing had changed when they talked, like he’d never left and come back (and come _back_ ) and left again, like he wasn’t thousands of miles away, chasing his dream, an ocean between them. Haru always forgot about these things when Rin talked.

It was when the call was cut or when Rin’s account logged off that he stared at the postcards on display on his desk, of all those places that should be foreign to him but that instead, thanks to Rin, were undoubtedly familiar, that Haru noticed.

 

_It’s lonely here._

_I miss you._

 

It wasn’t that Haru wanted Rin to say those things, but it still felt like the words were always lingering in the air, watching, waiting, and yet Haru always seemed to forget all about them until his apartment was quiet again, until the only sound ringing between his ears was a constant loop of Rin’s casual goodbye.

Upon retrospect, those lingering thoughts were probably the cause of Haru’s sudden meltdown when “it” happened. Had he been talking to Rin a few moments before, instead of mulling about him alone in the bath, his reaction might have been a little different. Perhaps things might have ended differently.

Or, perhaps, it was nothing more but an eventual outcome that had merely been pushed a few years nearer in time purely by accident.

Haru’s hair was still slightly wet when he turned his phone back on, unsurprised at being greeted by notifications. There was one (deliberately forwarded) meme that was promptly deleted, a least 3 about the upcoming relay trials from people who wanted him in their team (Haru was still undecided about those, so he left them for later), one from Makoto about how the stray cat that he and his classmates had found had finally been found a new home (Haru sent him an emote doing a thumbsup in reply; emotes were something Haru caught the hang of very quickly), and a missed call and voicemail from his parents. Haru checked it lazily, silently going over the relay team options in his head as the message played back in the background.

Two things happened in succession.

The first thing that Haru registered was the thud of his phone against the tatami floor, the pre-recorded voice instructing him on which buttons to press should he wish to play back the message again. The second was the voice in his head speaking up, clearly and loudly, shaky even in his thoughts.

 

_I can’t._

_Rin._

 

The phone had gone quiet, and the apartment was once again as silent as usual a few seconds later, but between Haru’s ears there was nothing but chaos.

The message itself was one thing. Haru had known what to expect from it. Places, plans, names; it was all in it. _We’re looking forward to having you over for dinner next week. I’m making mackerel just for you, so no excuses this time! Miyamoto-san is coming too, he’s bringing his daughter along. It will be a nice opportunity for you to talk, so it would be great if you could come._

Places, plans, names.

His parents’ house, dinner, Miyamoto-san.

Miyamoto-san’s daughter.

Talk to Miyamoto-san’s daughter.

The message was clear. But that wasn’t what had frightened him.

The problem were the thoughts that had immediately crossed his mind while hearing it.

Haru was in no way interested in a relationship at the moment. His thoughts were elsewhere—and, frankly, he’d never given it much thought, _ever_ , even back when he didn’t even have a semblance of a goal in mind. So the fact that his brain had supplied him with an “I can’t” instead of an “I don’t want to” was confusing from the get go.

But the worse was when the thought resulting from that “I can’t” was “Rin.”

What in the _world_ did Rin have to do with this?

Rin was always encouraging him to get out more, have some fun, (stick to his training schedule and) get to know his teammates—try to build a team of his own. Rin didn’t say it (yet), and Haru hadn’t brought it up (so far), but they both knew that, when the time came, making the relay team together was going to be a priority, a given. There was no way they wouldn’t strive to swim together on the same team again, wear the same uniform, chase after those records and those medals from the same starting block, the same lane. But a team was made out of four people, and it was Haru who was in Japan right now, so getting a taste of swimming with the ones who might one day be on that same team as them was something Rin always indirectly encouraged him to do.

But Rin didn’t dictate every single aspect of his life. It wasn’t Rin’s job to tell Haru what to or what not to do (well, he was a bit annoying on the diet issue, but Haru was already starting to get used to hearing it from more and more people lately), so why was it that such an unrelated topic would end up in “Rin” being the reason why his brain seemed to thing he couldn’t do it? Was Haru missing something here? What say did Rin have in this? How did he find his way into a decision which didn’t concern him in the least?

Haru was confused, hair still wet and sitting on the floor, thinking, the call long since cut off.

Rin was a romantic at heart, but Haru was pretty certain they’d never discussed the topic of girlfriends before.

That was another thing he was starting to hear more and more of lately, comments like “you’re always alone, Nanase!” or “you should get yourself a girlfriend,” or “my sister has a cute friend, you’d hit it off right away!” and so on and so forth. He wasn’t interested. It was a bit insulting that it was his own parents pushing the issue this time, but Haru should be able to let it slide easily, as he always did. He didn’t feel particularly aggravated by the topic, after all. But when it came from his parents, it made the whole thing sound less like a casual relationship and more… official, like settling down, like forming a family—

There it was again.

Why was he thinking about _Rin?_

Haru hugged his knees a little closer to his chest, hanging his head between them and closing his eyes, almost getting up and jumping straight into the bath again. He thought a lot about Rin lately, yes, but this was ridiculous, even for him. It made no sense. This kind of thing had nothing to do with Rin.

So then why was Haru suddenly picturing himself waking up in the morning to the sounds of Rin making breakfast, why was he thinking of whether they’d eat together or argue about their meals as often as they did through chat, why was he thinking of the little empty space in his closet, which always seemed too big for just his own clothes, why was he thinking of late night tv shows, warm tea on cold afternoons, fights over whose turn it was to wash the dishes, over who had been the last to use up all the conditioner, over which pillow was more comfortable, over how Haru always conveniently forgot to take his umbrella with him whenever the weather forecast announced a light drizzle? Why was he imagining holidays, vacations, travels, the little wrinkles on the corners of Rin’s eyes when he smiled becoming more prominent, his smile growing fonder, his heart growing bigger and bigger as the years went by, an arm around his shoulder? Why was he imagining him always there, standing at his side, hand in hand, reaching out to invite him on the next big adventure of their lives?

Haru had never been interested in a relationship, much less in marriage. That sort of thing wasn’t a priority, and had never occupied his thoughts. So why was it that easy and simple for him to imagine an entire lifetime with Rin?

Haru had never been good at thinking ahead. He was admittedly not very good at dealing with change; he’d gotten better, yes, but it was still a little frightening to imagine himself sharing his space with a stranger. Well—to be fair, Rin wasn’t what he’d call a stranger, really, but he was still someone _else_ , someone different, someone who wasn’t Haru, with his own likes and dislikes, his own routine and his own unique, personal way of doing things. And yet… as scary and unsettling as the concept was, Rin seemed to fit into the picture almost naturally, welcoming himself into Haru’s future with the same ease that he had found his way into both his past and his present.

The sudden image of Rin walking into his apartment and smiling a casual “I’m home” to him was so trivial and uneventful and _stupid_ that Haru was a little concerned by how his heart jumped at the very thought of it.

 

( _“It’s lonely here.” “I miss you.”_ )

 

Haru wasn’t good at these things, but if the past couple of years had taught him something, it was that stalling, hiding, and trying to run away only made matters worse in the long run. If there was one thing that Haru had learned from Rin, it was that sometimes the best solution was the craziest one. So, with a long sigh, he picked himself up, grabbed his phone, and dialed his coach’s number.

 

* * *

Rin’s face upon finding Haru at his doorstep had been priceless. (To be fair, it _did_ have a price tag attached, if the plane ticket was anything to go by, but that was literally the last thing in Haru’s mind.) It had morphed from shock to doubt to surprise to delight to utter confusion in mere milliseconds, and then settled on slight worry when all Haru had said when asked what he was doing there had been “I had things to think about.” Rin hadn’t asked another question after that, and instead had simply shaken his head, complained about the suddenness of it all (Haru had better not be slacking off, he’d yelled) and allowed him to come inside and make himself comfortable. He had, while heading to the kitchen for a glass of water, faked annoyance at Haru’s sudden imposition, commenting that it was far too soon for him to be having a middle-life crisis yet. But when Haru had failed to snark back at him, and had instead just sat silently while staring at the now empty glass that had been offered to him, Rin had immediately dragged him up on his feet, claiming that he didn’t have enough food to make dinner for two, and had ordered Haru to drop his things and tag along.

The first thing that struck Haru was the lack of weirdness of it all. There he was, standing in the middle of a small grocery shop in Australia, _literally_ from one day to another, with Rin asking him to fetch this or that from that one aisle, or asking for Haru’s opinion on the condition of the vegetables in stock, and yet (even if he still wasn’t completely fluent in English) Haru didn’t feel out of place at all. He wasn’t entirely sure what reaction he had been expecting, both from Rin and in himself, when he’d suddenly set off like that, but it certainly hadn’t been this one. Haru knew Rin was probably just giving him a headstart to get his thoughts in order until the questions inevitably began (Rin didn’t beat around the bush, which made this decision all the more crazier and hopefully more productive than it already was), but Haru again felt as if he were being carried by the flow, just like every time he talked with Rin; the worries he’d been meaning to get past and the things he’d been meaning to share forgotten in the midst of their inane banter and casual interaction. The domesticity of it all was both surprising and natural, and it only dawned on Haru that yes, there had been an important reason why he’d decided to skip a few days of training and yes, Rin had undoubtedly noticed, when they were already back in Rin’s apartment, him sitting in the living room after Rin had insisted he would show Haru his culinary skills at last, and when Rin had suddenly popped his head out of the kitchen, bragging about the thick and tasty-looking mackerel fillets he had bought while Haru wasn’t looking.

That alone was enough for Haru to picture an entire lifetime with him all over again.

The first thing Haru noticed was the almost horrified expression that crossed Rin’s face before he shoved the fish back in the fridge and rushed to him, sitting at his side, a hand wrapped tightly around his arm in comfort.

The second were the tears that were rolling down his own cheeks.

It was too late to try to blink them away, but Haru still tried, looking away and pressing the back of his hand and his sleeves against the corner of his eyes, wiping his face dry.

He might as well forget about that headstart.

Rin was staring at him, his expression dead serious over a thick layer of worry, and suddenly the words were all jumbled in his head again, too many things to say trying to get out all at the same time, all at once.

“Haru,” was all Rin said, and that was all that was necessary for the words to start falling out through his lips.

“There’s this girl,” Haru mumbled softly, and Rin had to lean in closer, squinting his eyes as if trying to make sure if he’d indeed heard that right. Haru unconsciously shook his head, starting over, and immediately got tongue tied again. “My parents—”

He’d come all this way looking for answers, to share the strange thoughts in his head with Rin in order to try and figure out whether he’d suddenly gone crazy or if there was indeed something _more_ to it all than that, but now he didn’t even know where to begin.

He looked up again, in an attempt to explain himself, knowing he was making little sense with his messy excuses for coherent sentences, but the look of heartbroken understanding in Rin’s face was like a kick in both his gut and his head at the same time.

Maybe Haru was imagining things. Maybe there wasn’t any heartbreak there, maybe Rin was just showing his concern for him and trying to look sympathetic. Or something. (Even if it was definitely more like Rin to frown and look angry instead, and say something like “you should’ve called, idiot” or “that’s insane! What about your career!?” or—)

“—I missed you.”

Or that.

Except it hadn’t been Rin who’d spoken, as he was currently busy gaping and blinking at Haru like he’d just been slapped in the face.

Maybe it had sounded as stupid to him as it had to Haru.

“… sorry,” Haru babbled again, running a shaky hand through his hair and looking away, “it’s nothing. I just—”

Whatever other words might have fallen off his lips after that died in his mouth when Rin suddenly put his arms around him a little awkwardly, holding him in a loose hug. He didn’t tell Haru to shut up nor to take back his apology. He didn’t say it was okay, he didn’t tell Haru to keep going.

“Why me, though?” he asked instead, gently guiding Haru’s head to rest against his shoulder with one hand, and rubbing his back softly with the other with a snort. “I’m not very good at these things. Plus,” he chuckled lightly, ruffling Haru’s hair a little and making him squirm, “it’s a bit out of your way, you know?”

“I _know_ ,” Haru muttered, finally succeeding in pushing Rin’s hand away, and frowning at him a little. Rin simply snorted, pulling him close again, but leaving his hair alone this time.

“So?”

Haru wasn’t entirely sure how to reply to that. It wasn’t as if he didn't know _why_ —he’d been at a sudden loss, needing to see Rin and to confirm certain things, and Australia had worked well for him in the past, too. It was stupid, yes, but that was the whole point. Stupid and sudden was a very “them” thing to do, it seemed.

And right now that “them” was what Haru needed the most.

“Because you’re annoying,” he said, earning himself an indignant _‘hah!?’_ from Rin. “And a bother, and pushy, and loud, and everything I can’t stand.” He pushed Rin away a little with each word, breaking the hug, and Rin’s frown (and the pout he was trying to hide behind it) grew more prominent with each inch between then. “But you’re you,” he said a bit more quietly, looking down from Rin’s face to his own hands, still pressed against Rin’s shoulders to keep him at bay, “and I just can’t imagine a future without you in it.”

The sharp heave of Rin’s chest and the loud thump of his heart that followed almost made Haru yank his hands away.

There was a long pause, during which Haru could think of at least a hundred ways in which his words might have just ruined everything that he’d worked so hard to build and restore and cherish between them (and a few ways in which they might hopefully have not, too).

“Idiot,” Rin suddenly mumbled, and Haru looked up again, eyes unconsciously wide in expectation, only to find Rin scratching the back of his neck, looking to the side and slightly flustered. “I’m always gonna be in it.”

Haru breathed in deep, and said nothing else.

 

 

Dinner was quieter than Haru had expected it to be, even if, throughout the course of it, Rin made sure to make clear that him cooking mackerel for him didn’t mean that he was letting Haru easy on the diet issue at least five times. His version was more on the crispier side, and it was seasoned pretty heavily, but it wasn’t all too bad. He made a few comments about his training schedule, complained about the weather, and didn’t bring up the topic of Haru’s visit again. He allowed Haru to help with the dishes, but he stood firm on his decision of having Haru take the bed, grabbing a pillow and a blanket for himself to sleep on the couch with.

“Look, Haru, you’re gonna have to say something if you really don’t want to,” Rin said all of a sudden, no clarification needed, making Haru stop on his tracks as he pulled the bed sheets away. There was a short moment of silence before he finally replied.

“… I know,” he mumbled, choosing to keep his issues with the ‘I don’t want to’ and the ‘I can’t’ to himself for now, though.

There was another moment of silence between them while Haru climbed into Rin’s bed, pulling the sheets over himself, immediately assaulted by the familiar scent all over them. Rin stood at the door, watching him with a fond smile, the pillow and the blanket in one hand and the doorknob in the other. He opened it with a snort after Haru had finished making himself comfortable (he looked way too warm and child-like, hiding under the sheets like that).

“Say, Haru,” he said suddenly, and Haru turned over to face him, watching him while still keeping his face half-hidden. Rin’s expression was strangely serious again all of a sudden, his eyes on the floor. “If you could choose me,” he asked, turning to him, “what would you do?”

Rin left quickly while muttering a small ‘never mind’ and a ‘good night’ before Haru had a chance to ask what his question even _meant_.

He had no idea how long he’d stayed awake with his eyes fixed on that door after it closed.

 

* * *

 

Haru opened his eyes lazily, momentarily disoriented and confused by the lack of familiarity of the room he found himself in. He didn’t remember falling asleep at all. It took him about two seconds to remember what had happened the day before, how he’d panicked about the idea of being set up with some random stranger, and how he’d decided that the best course of action was to hop on a plane to Australia on a whim to see Rin, as if that would magically solve all his problems in an instant. A glance at the alarm clock on the bedside table let him know he’d overslept; it was a few minutes past eleven, and Haru spent a few minutes more just lying there, eyes closed and face pressed against the pillow that smelled like Rin.

It was almost noon when he opened his eyes again, the sounds of movement in the apartment stirring him awake. Haru reluctantly sat up, rubbing the sleep off his eyes.

Last night—

He’d definitely said some crazy things last night. And Rin had picked up on it way too easily, almost as if he’d known exactly what sort of things had been muddling Haru’s mind.

Maybe he _did_ know. He wouldn’t have asked that question otherwise.

That was scary as hell.

It was stupidly obvious what the question had meant (it was stupid, it _was_ , but Haru still doubted himself, because what proof did he have that Rin might want the same kind of future together with him that Haru had in mind?)

He had been unable to reply. Even if that was probably the very reason why he’d needed to come all this way for. The trip in itself was enough confirmation, really. The fact that he’d used up a large part of his savings just to see Rin face to face in a moment of panic, the fact that his troubles had seemed to instantly melt away, forgotten as soon as Rin had started dragging him around, distracting him, the fact that having Rin in the next room was enough to help him sleep peacefully even when there was so much on his mind troubling him—the fact that both his imagination and his waking mind kept showing him time and time again how much he wanted to have Rin by his side for the rest of his life.

He wasn’t sure why he hadn’t answered. If he could—he didn’t even need to give it a second thought.

But was it even worth admitting out loud when he _couldn’t?_ Would it do any good for Rin to know exactly how Haru felt, when nothing could come out of it?

Maybe he didn’t have to say anything outright. Maybe Rin wasn’t expecting an actual answer. Rin seemed to have figured out what a big chunk of his issues with the whole thing were, so maybe that was enough.

 

(He was still running away, wasn’t he.)

 

Haru was startled out of his thoughts when the door opened slowly, Rin’s head poking into the room quietly. He seemed pleasantly surprised to find him awake.

“Morning, Haru, good timing” he smiled, still staying at the door. “The shower’s ready, so hurry up. We’re going out,” he said quickly, closing the door again, and in a few seconds the sounds of things being moved around in the kitchen returned with full force. Haru kept staring at the door for a moment before sighing, climbing out of bed while inwardly hoping Rin didn’t have any fancy outings planned. He wasn’t sure if he was in the mood at the moment.

 

* * *

 

The late breakfast Rin had cooked up for him ( _brunch_ , he’d said, making Haru try to pronounce it a bunch of times before telling him he still needed a lot of practice) hadn’t been too bad. While Haru had voiced some empty complaints about the lack of mackerel in it, their short argument had been just as empty, and Haru had enjoyed the food more than he had expected to. He’d been surprised by the presence of one or two fruits, but they’d been sweet and healthy, and his mood was a bit better after finishing his portion.

Rin didn’t have any fancy outings planned, after all.

They had ended up at the beach again, just like so many months ago, and Haru stared at the ocean for a while, reminiscing and contemplating silently, very aware of Rin’s eyes and his smile on him. Rin had tried to find a spot that wasn’t too crowded, and the sound of the waves in the air was calming, easing Haru’s heart. He turned to watch Rin as he suddenly kicked off his shoes, dropping them off on the sand.

“You’re coming too,” he said, cheerfully walking up to Haru and taking his hands in both of his, pulling him towards the shore, “come on.” Haru resisted for all of one millisecond before letting Rin drag him along, tugging back for him to wait a moment, reluctantly kicking his own shoes off as well.

The water was slightly warm under the early afternoon sun, and Rin had the brightest smile on his face, laughing as he urged Haru to jump over the incoming waves, tiny as they were. They stopped after a few steps to roll up the sleeves of their pants a little (Rin taking a little longer, as he insisted in rolling them all the way up above his knees; Haru hoped he wasn’t expecting to go too far in, at least not in their current clothing) and then walked further in, hand in hand, their grips tight to keep each other from losing their balance (mostly when Rin moved unnecessarily fast or jumped unnecessarily high).

The water was up to Haru’s calves when Rin stopped moving forward, turning to him with a smile, and holding Haru’s hand in both of his. There was a glimmer in his eyes that told Haru there was something more to this than just playing on the shore like children, and he stared at him warily, an eyebrow raised. Rin simply offered him a full grin, vibrant and happy.

“If we’re doing this, we might as well do it right,” he said, and, still holding Haru’s hand tightly, dropped down in the water on one knee.

Haru stopped breathing.

Rin loved crazy ideas, but surely he wouldn’t—

“Nanase Haruka.”

Rin stated it loud and clear, mouthing every syllable with care, as if cherishing the name itself just as much as the man it referred to. Haru’s inner circuits were snapping and failing to reconnect, sounding every possible alarm, his eyes wide and his skin sweaty and his throat suddenly dry and—

But Rin was smiling proudly, most likely oblivious to Haru’s major meltdown as he looked up at him, his eyes shining, reflecting Haru’s face in them, and even though the pause lasted about half a second Haru honestly felt he was about to fall over and hyperventilate.

_Rin no stand up **stop** no there’s probably people looking what are you doing no Rin seriously stop this this isn’t funny this isn’t this is just Rin no please what are you doing what **what**_ —

“Will you marry me?”

The breeze blew past.

Birds chirped in the distance.

The ocean was still swaying to and fro between them, and the fact that the world was still moving reminded Haru that he _really_ needed to breathe.

“Wait, Rin, we can’t—”

“Yes or no, Haru,” Rin cut him off, still smiling, and Haru could do nothing but keep standing in front of him, mouth hanging open and feeling a little weak at the knees. What was Rin even _doing?_ Surely he was more than aware that it wasn’t possible, that no matter how much he wanted it, it didn’t—

… wait a second.

Had Rin just—

No, Haru _hadn't_ gone insane; Rin had just asked _the_ question and that could only mean one thing.

Before Haru could even begin to ask why, Rin’s smile grew fonder, his grip on Haru’s hand gentler.

“It’s always been you,” he said sweetly, and Haru could swear his heart was currently trying to jumpstart itself back into motion.

Rin did want it. A future with _him_. With all it entailed.

It had always been Rin for him, too.

It was after meeting Rin that Haru had come to learn what true affection was, and how to cherish those around him; it was thanks to Rin that Haru knew what heartache and longing felt like, how much it hurt to live every day with a festering pain eating him up from inside out, what it meant to feel both despair as dark as an endless abyss and joy as blinding as the brightest star. It was Rin who moved his heart, who pushed him further, forward, it was Rin who he wanted to reach and surpass and walk side by side, all at the same time. It was Rin who occupied his thoughts and his dreams, whose destiny seemed to be so intrinsically tied with his, and Haru would give anything to keep him in his life for the rest of his days and beyond.

He felt like he’d been standing there for an eternity, but in all that time not a single ounce of doubt crossed through Rin’s eyes.

Haru was breathing in deep and slow, but he still felt a little short of breath when he lowered his head a little, staring straight at Rin as he voiced a shaky and slightly loud “yes.”

He’d honestly thought that Rin’s smile couldn’t possibly get any wider or brighter, but he’d definitely been mistaken. Rin’s expression was absolutely endearing, making Haru’s heart skip a beat with his flushed cheeks and his eyes that almost sparkled as he squeezed Haru’s hand tight, using one hand to search his pocket for a small box.

Haru’s insides flipped over again.

“Rin, what—”

“I said we’re doing it right,” Rin chuckled, his fingers shaking a little as he tried to keep his hold on Haru’s hand and pop the box open at the same time. He managed it just when Haru was about to call out to him again, and inside were two identical silver rings, simple an smooth and slightly wide. Haru tried to protest, but Rin shushed him, making him hold the box as he slipped one of them on his ring finger.

“Rin,” Haru finally called out, staring at him with a frown on his face as Rin kept grinning at him, taking the box back and holding it up in front of him so Haru would take the other ring. “You know this doesn’t count. We can’t—”

“Then I’ll just have to keep asking until it does,” Rin smiled, offering Haru the second ring again, unflinching and undeterred. “All you have to do is keep saying yes.”

The normal reaction would’ve been to protest. Probably. Haru wasn’t sure anymore. Because Rin’s confidence was contagious, and when Rin extended his hand to him Haru felt like he could do the impossible, like life was boundless and limitless, like anything he put his sight on could be his. Haru sighed, because he would be lying to himself if he said he didn’t want this, even if it was just play pretend. He would be lying if he said he wouldn’t fight for it, if he said he wouldn’t keep saying yes even if everyone around them said no. This was Rin, and this was Rin and him, and when they were together they could conquer every obstacle, and bend the world to do their bidding.

Spending a lifetime with Rin and making dream after dream come true with him was the next big sight that Haru wanted to see.

And to know that it was the same for Rin was the most amazing feeling in the entire world.

He took the ring at last, and Rin jumped to his feet with the energy of a 12-year-old, holding his shaky hand out to him proudly.

“Wait,” Haru said suddenly, and Rin momentarily deflated.

“What _now!”_ He whined, exasperated and jumpy, his nerves out in the open at last. Haru held the ring tightly, digging his toes in the wet sand beneath his feet.

“… I didn’t ask yet,” he said, and Rin barked out a short chuckle, offering his hand to Haru again, a goofy grin on his face and a couple of small tears in the corner of his eyes.

Haru paused for a moment, staring from the ring to Rin’s hand, and he cleared his throat, taking a deep breath, and hoping that those short, four words were enough to convey everything he felt towards him.

“… will you marry me?” he asked at last, solemn and firm and feeling a little stupid at the same time, and Rin promptly burst into laughter again, his voice sweet and confident when he was finally able to reply.

“You bet,” he smiled, and Haru could swear he’d never looked more beautiful than at that very moment. “As many times as it takes.”

 

* * *

Haru held his phone tightly against his ear as he sat on the floor of his small Tokyo apartment, fist clenched at his side, the silver ring pressed tightly against his fingers.

The wait was horrifying.

His mother’s voice finally popped in from the other side, and Haru immediately begun talking, repeating his carefully rehearsed speech in his head for the millionth time as he did.

“Sorry for taking so long to call back,” he started, as fast as he could without rushing through it, effectively stopping his mother’s chatter on its tracks, “but I won’t be able to make it to dinner next week. Tell Miyamoto-san I’m sorry.” Haru breathed in again, continuing before his mother managed to interrupt him with questions, unconsciously playing with the ring on his finger as he spoke. “And mom, I know you mean well, but I’m not interested in a relationship right now—I mean,” he shook his head to nobody in particular, smiling softly as he took a moment to glance at the ring, immediately gaining confidence from the mere sight of it and what it represented. However, his mother took Haru’s slight pause as a cue to interject, so the last of his words overlapped messily with her quick apology.

“There’s… already someone I like, so—”  
“Oh no, dear, it’s alright! Miyamoto-san’s daughter works for a sports magazine as a journalist, so we thought an interview would—”

 

Haru froze.

 

What.

 

“Eh?”  
“What!? Oh gosh— _Honey!”_

Haru could feel the phone gradually slipping from his grasp. He tried to protest, but his mother seemed to not be listening to a word he said anymore, her voice as loud and hyper as if she’d just been told she’d won the lottery.

“Honey, come here!”

“ _Wait_ , mom, that’s not—”

“Haruka finally got himself a girlfriend!”

Haru yanked the phone away from his ear just as his father’s loud _“WHAT!?”_ boomed through the speaker, pushing the end call button in panic, and hurling the phone across the room towards his bag, ignoring its hums as it begun vibrating incessantly a few seconds later.

He sat in the quiet of his apartment, staring at his bag from afar, breathing heavily and wide-eyed and horrified, the heavy ring on his finger now a constant reminder of the extent of his understandable, but nevertheless crazy overreaction.

Maybe it wasn’t too late to go back and ask Rin to hide him in Australia for a few more days. (He was probably going to have to save up for a new phone, too, at this rate. It was a mystery how he hadn’t totaled it yet.)

Haru sighed, leaving the phone to run out of battery and die and headed to the bathroom instead, to take on a nice, long, much needed soak in the tub.

He was going to have _lot_ of explaining to do.

**Author's Note:**

> It later becomes a thing between Haru and Rin to propose to each other over the smallest things. Nice outfit? Marry me. Cooked a good meal? Marry me. Bought tickets for a random chick flick? Marry me.
> 
> They're idiots.
> 
> Random trivia: It wasn't Gou or Nagisa who tipped Rin off on all the Iwatobi Swim Club shenanigans. It was actually "Rin-san how did you survive an entire _year_ as captain, please share your knowledge with me and help me figure out how to solve this *insert issue of the day/week*" Ryuugazaki Rei.


End file.
